The heavy doors closed behind her with a sound like finality.
And just like that, I was alone.
I turned, half-hoping she'd come back, but the doors stayed closed.
My feet stayed rooted to the floor. I didn’t know if I should sit. I didn’t want to move and offend him somehow. I was halfway into the room; four rows of pew were still between us.
The flickering torchlight felt colder now. The pews stretched out like rows of eyes, and the silence wasn’t empty anymore it was waiting.
The priest stood at the lectern, a few steps above me, a large book open before him, its pages catching the torchlight like ancient parchment mid-sermon. He was draped in molten crimson robes stitched with dark sigils, each one pulsing faintly. His skin was red as well, but less vibrant than my own, or Magnavex’s, gray with subtle undertones of deep plum. Thin lines, traced up from beneath his collar and into his temple.
His face was angular and grave, with high cheekbones and eyes that shimmered faintly with violet light. He looked old—not fragile, but worn, like a blade kept sharp through centuries of use.
“it is an honor to meet you, I am the Pontiff Lazeth,” He adjusted the cuffs of his long robes, then placed one hand reverently on the open book.
Pontiff! I clasped my hands tightly in front of me, trying to appear respectful.
He continued “I understand you must have a lot of questions, not the least of which where you are and why you can’t tell people your real identity.”
I—I that’s true! I had been incapable of telling Dormathis my name.
“I will answer the first of those now” he stared down to me from his position.
“We are Eclipserans,” Lazeth began, his voice steady but heavy with reverence. “Our kind originates from a distant world, a planet called Eclipsera. Once, it was paradise. But we can no longer call it home.” He paused, his gaze turning distant.
“In our hour of despair, Tenebros, our god, intervened. With divine power, they lifted us from Eclipsera and brought us here, to the Void, a space between worlds. But the void is no home. It sustains us, yes, but it’s not meant for mortals. We needed a world to live in, and Tenebros sought to give us one.”
His voice grew bitter. “They found the only planet available. We were able to make a connection to a continent on this planet, the one known as Solivara. He ran his hand along the edge of the lectern, knuckles whitening.
Then slowly stepped down one step, closer to me.
Wait… Solivara?
My fingers dug into the pew next to me, nails scraping the worn wood.
My whole body froze.
That’s…That’s where I live. What is he talking about?
“But its skies already belonged to another god, Lumisiel, the god of the humans. Tenebros approached them in peace, looking for only a small part of the land for our people. But Lumisiel…” he spat the name like poison and took another step down.
“They refused. Would not share their skies. Would not tolerate mortals who refused to worship them.”
My god!
He was talking about Lumisiel. My God.
My chest tightened like a rope was being drawn around it.
That wasn’t fair. Lumisiel wasn’t like that.
They, they wouldn’t…
The priest’s fists clenched at his sides. “And so Lumisiel declared war. They struck first, driving us back with their armies, their divine fury. But Tenebros would not abandon us. They led a counteroffensive, and at first, we were victorious. Desperation made us fierce. We claimed a portion of the planet for ourselves.”
He paused.
these beings have their own god. Why wouldn’t Lumisiel recognize that?
The weight of his words pressed into me like stone.
A prickle crept down my spine.
My heart thudded in my ears.
Wait... I’ve heard this before. and recently.
Lazeth’s voice broke through my thoughts. “Lumisiel summoned their first champion.”
“A being of unimaginable power. With their strength, the tide turned against us. Kingdoms fell. Our armies shattered. We retreated to the edges of our lands. Eventually, we slew that champion, but the damage was done. Then Lumisiel summoned another. And another. Each one stronger than the last. Each one brought us closer to ruin.” He took two more steps and reached the floor. There were only four rows distance between us.
My mind scrambled. Champion? Lumisiel doesn’t have champions, as far as I remember.
Lazeth paused. His hands trembled. “Eventually, Tenebros found a way to intercept Lumisiel’s summoning connection, piggybacking on it to summon champions of our own, reincarnated humans from Earth, but loyal to us. They leveled the playing field. For years, the war was a stalemate. Each side gaining, each side losing. Until…” He hesitated again.
He's talking about the Heroes.
A chill settled deep in my stomach.
These weren’t just orcs, or trolls, or any other demibeing.
These were the demons.
They were the ones we were taught to fear. The ones we were supposed to destroy.
I needed to say something. I couldn’t show him my fear.
I was trembling, I forced myself to breathe and crossed my arms, hoping it looked casual, and hid my trembling.
But I was too scared, I couldn’t bring myself to stop trembling let alone speak.
Lazeth’s voice cut back in, low and grim.
“That last champion was relentless. Ruthless. They drove us from our final strongholds, forcing us into the void. Our champion couldn’t retake what was lost. The humans, built fortresses around the portal, locking us out of the world we fought for.”
He looked normal.
He stood there calmly, speaking, breathing.
He, no. It.
It was a demon!
The demon studied me. Not with threat. Not with reverence.
With pity.
“And that brings us to you” It said taking another step towards me. “I know who you are…” there were now only two rows distance between us, he could make that in a heartbeat.
My stomach twisted.
My voice rose before I could stop it. “You know I’m…?”
My name clawed its way up my throat,
Olive, but it caught.
Like something inside me slammed shut.
My mouth opened.
Nothing.
“it’s alright” He nodded knowingly. “Time to answer the second question.”
“For some reason unknow to us, Lumisiel prevents her champion from telling the world about his position, and since Tenebros ability to summon is by hijacking Lumisiel’s connection to Earth, that restriction applies to you as well.”
I can’t say my name because of Lumisiel. Why wouldn’t she want the hero to be able to reveal themselves?
“But that doesn’t mean we don’t know anything” he continued “I know you are Cole from the planet Earth. We understand that you were a high school student, and you have a rivalry with the human know as Dylan, well I am happy to say, Dylan was Lumisiel’s choice for her champion, and you were ours.” The demon took a step forward.
Resurrected? Does that mean I died?
I took a step away from the demon. “No, that couldn’t be right.”
“Yes, I’m afraid so, Dylan was chosen as their champion, but this gives you an opportunity to once and for all, prove yourself his better.” It gestured toward a nearby pew, inviting me to sit.
I wasn’t dead. I couldn’t have been. I could still hear her, me, breathing, sleeping.
“Unfortunately, Lumisiel’s champions have pushed us all the way into our final refuge. This is what you face.” His voice grew heavy with despair as It finished.
“And what about my real life?” I whispered.
The demon Pontiff hesitated, his tone softening. “My apologies. But there is no getting back to it, Tenebros was able to capture your soul, after your death, but he is not capable of returning it.” He gestured for me to sit again.
This time, I sat. It took another step and stopped in the aisle in front of me.
I swallowed. “Tenebros resurrected me for war?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. “To be his champion and invade Solivara?”
“Yes,” The demon said, with finality.
There was silence.
I didn’t know what to say.
Or what I even wanted to believe.
“We need to go through your naming ceremony,” Lazeth said, breaking the quiet. “But it’s simple. We can do it right away.”
Lazeth had been talking this entire time, but I wasn’t listening.
I looked down at my red hands as black lines like ink swam beneath the skin.
I’m a—a demon.
It stepped forward, voice rising with ceremonial weight. “I, as the Chosen Speaker of Tenebros, Pontiff Lazeth, officially recognize you. You are no longer the human known as Cole.”
My mind latched onto that name. anything to not continue my thoughts.
Cole? Who the hell was Cole?
That’s the guy you want. He should be the demon. Not me.
I stood up, heart racing, and tried to speak, tried to tell him he was wrong. That I wasn’t Cole, That I was Olive. That I couldn’t be a demon.
My jaw opened.
But no sound came. Not even a whisper.
The word stuck in my throat like a stone.
I tried again, harder.
My name was there, right behind my teeth, but something pulled it back.
Like a hand wrapped around my voice.
Lazeth finished his speech.
Then, gently, he placed a hand on my shoulder.
I froze. His hand was light, but it felt like being pinned.
He stood so close, the hem of his robes brushed against my shoes.
Every muscle in my body screamed to pull away, but I couldn’t move.
“From now on, you will be known as Lucarion, the Demon Lord.”
I swayed.
The name echoed through me like a bell someone else had rung.
It didn’t feel like a name.
It felt like a brand. A chain.